Thanksgiving with the Indians-Trevor

It is hard to put into words how special our Thanksgiving was here in India but I will try my best.  To our surprise our Thanksgiving celebration started the night before.  Sid, Brooke, and I were eating dinner at Vara and Prem’s house, our adopted family.  Normally we eat chapati and a different amazing curry each night but that night Vara made special vegetable chapati, special omelets, and then off course there was delicious curry.  He told us this was to start our Thanksgiving.

We woke up Thanksgiving morning remarking to each other how it really didn’t feel like the holiday at all.  When I think about it, this is the first time all three of us have been away from family at the holidays.  The kindness and special day to follow would quickly help us forget that.  During the morning the principle and his wife had us over to wish us a Happy Thanksgiving and to give us some carrot cake.  At lunchtime Chandu, brought over two different curries for us to try, one of them was even a pumpkin curry!!! The little things definitely make us excited here in India. Yes, we spend a lot of time eating.

For dinner we had invited Vara and Prem, and Nancy, their adorable little girl, Chandu and Ramana, our neighbors, and Rajeev, a younger single guy over for dinner at 7:00, so the afternoon found us preparing for the meal.  The day before we had made a shopping list and busted right down to the grocery store, just kidding, we went to the bustling street market in Vempalli and bought potatoes, green beans, beets, carrots, and cucumbers, all for the whopping price of about three dollars.

By the time 7:00 rolled around we had used pretty much every dish and pot in our house, plus borrowed some from next door and some from Vara and Prem.  Sid set up two tables together, found a table cloth, lit candles, and also ran around until we had enough plates and utensils for everyone.  We were going to make this a legit Thanksgiving!

In typical Indian manner, everyone showed up around 7:30.  The table was full with two pots of mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, gravy, seasoned green beans, a fresh vegetable plate, pineapple, and cooked carrots and cauliflower.  Brooke deserves most of the credit for the food, especially since she needed the power for some of the cooking, and the power here likes to play games with us, especially when we need it the most.  We resorted to just keeping our headlamps on for the last half hour spent cooking.

Rajeev loves ketchup!!

Ramana

As dinner began, watching our guests try some American food was almost as entertaining as Ramana lifting his plate up to his face to use his fork, complete with elbow sticking straight out. The ketchup was also a big hit with baby Nancy and Rajeev, as he put it on mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, and the vegetables. Kind of reminds me of American kids and myself. Ketchup makes everything better.  Sid played the part of an Indian host very well and for the first time we were the ones giving and offering more food even though they were full.  We concluded the meal with some apple cider from home, custard, and Brooke made one killer carrot cake complete with frosting.

It was Sid’s idea to continue the American tradition and go around the table and say what we were thankful for.  Brooke and I started by saying how much all of them meant to us and how they had made India so special.  I will never forget what happened next.  Vara had to translate for Ramana but as he began to talk about how Sid and I are his brothers, and Brooke his sister, my eyes started to water.  By the time Chandu, Vara, and Prem had talked about how they would miss us when we left I was a goner.  I was sitting at Thanksgiving dinner crying, that’s a first.  Sid didn’t fair much better soon after I started.  I don’t think it helped that we were sitting directly across from each other.  So now the two American boys are crying at the table and Brooke is able to hold it together, classic.

These incredible people are not just like our family, they are family.  Their immeasurable kindness and beauty blows me away every day but as I was sitting around the table with all of them together I could just feel the happiness in the room.  It is definitely true, food brings people together.

Dishes-Before and After!

After dinner, just like in America we all found ourselves in the kitchen.  I physically had to stop Vara from washing the dishes, which I’m glad I did because after everyone had left we could fully survey the damage.  I had to stack dishes on the floor to get to the bottom of the sink to even start.

Today, the day after Thanksgiving, we were over at Vara’s and Prem’s for dinner and to our surprise in a pot we found mashed potatoes, with an Indian flavor of course.  My favorite line of the evening was, “I want you guys to terminate them!”  Well we terminated those potatoes! Ha!

India has definitely gotten under my skin.  Sorry for repeating, but these people are truly incredible. Rajeev told us that he would remember our meal for the rest of his life. I would have to agree.  Happy late Thanksgiving!  I’m thankful for India!


-T

I Thought I Was Stonger-Trevor

So far most of my blog posts have been about traveling, fun experiences, and just India in general.  Although it’s much easier to write about holidays or the amazing curry I ate last night I thought I would open up and be honest about some of my emotional journey, so here it goes.

I remember those first few weeks.  Each day seemed like a week in fact.  I never thought I would feel the way I did.  I had been to Malawi, Namibia, and Malaysia all on mission trips, lived in a dorm for four years in high school away from my parents.  I’m a strong, independent kid I thought.  Living in India would just be another adventure full of fun times right?  Yes and no.

I remember the moments where I stopped missing home or even thinking about going home were few and far between. Even when I was playing volleyball or talking with people, most of my brain was struggling to stop thinking about how I didn’t think I could do this.  I had heard of student missionaries having horrible years and all I could think of was, “I’m going to have 7 months of this!!!???”  That thought was overwhelming.

I found myself during those first few weeks shutting off from the experiences around me.  I felt tense, alone, vulnerable, and weak.  The things keeping me in India included how much planning I had put into the trip, the donations of friends and family, not wanting to give up, and Sidney and Brooke.  I WANT TO BE HAPPY I kept telling myself.   I want to laugh until it hurts and not just put on a fake smile and pretend it is all okay.

It has been over a month and a half since we spent our first night here in India.  I’m reading Blue Like Jazz and the author talks about how one of his most painful experiences was realizing has selfish he truly was, that life was a story, but he was not the main character it revolves around.  Despite how it is embarrassing to say it, I also am beginning to see that life is not only a story about myself.  There are so many beautiful people here in India.  Their beauty shines through their kindness, faces, laughs, and smiles.  As I am beginning to realize that me being comfortable is not the one main goal in the story, life here is India has started to come alive in beautiful facts and colors.  Things that would make me just want to retreat to my room in frustration, now still make me frustrated but I’m able to turn it into laughs and memories.  People here have become family.

My progress is definitely slow, Oscar the Grouch wouldn’t want to be around me at times here.  I still miss home, friends, and family on a daily basis.  But instead of just focusing on that I need to remind myself how truly lucky I am to even have the opportunity to meet these people, eat these foods, and be fully immersed in a different culture.  I know many of you are praying for me, Mom especially, so thank you for the support and help.

It is crazy to think how low, shut-off, and home sick I was for the first month.  It took being completely separated from my amazing family, friends, and social community to realize how much I really do rely on people.  Despite how independent I may think I am, my family and friends truly do provide so much support that I took for granted until now.

No I AM NOT as STRONG as a thought, but where there are STRUGGLES there is GROWTH.  It just took that far away country called India to help show me that.

-T

This country grows on you - Brooke

We've been here over a month and a half. We still talk about America and what were going to do when we get home. Where we're going to eat, where we're going to go, who we're going to see. But we are no where ready to go back to America yet! Today we were talking about how much the people here are growing on us. There are some kids we have each connected with, but mostly we've gotten to know the teachers, and we love em (mostly)! When we first got here, there were some people we weren't so sure about, and didn't really like very much...but to look back at that now, some of it seems pretty ridiculous! I love how you get to know peoples quirks and little pieces of their personality that make them unique.

To be honest, during the first week of school, I couldn't tell the difference between half of the women teachers. They all had these difficult names to say and remember and they looked the same with their black hair braided down their backs. I think about it now and their differences are incredibly obvious, how could I have missed them? It's like when you see one of those movies showing a busy street in China where everyone is walking somewhere and they all look like clones of each other. That's kind of how I felt when I arrived in India! In case any of you have ever felt the same, I am here tell you that even though there are things they all say and mannerisms they all do, they are very different from each other. They all look different, sound different, and treat us in different ways.

I'm glad we get to spend enough time here to really get to know the people who make everything about this place what it is and what we enjoy. It's kind of like people watching on steroids, and I love it! Our 'brothers' and 'sisters' on this campus are truly fascinating.

-B

Weekend in Bangalore!

This weekend we took a little trip down to Bangalore which is about six hours away by bus. The “Super Luxury” bus leaves at 11 pm and we arrive around 5 am. (Don’t be misled by the term Super Luxury). This is the bounciest road I have experienced here in India so far! At one point, I think Trevor’s head may have hit the ceiling and on the way home I was literally bounced onto the floor. We arrived at 5 am at the bus station and were immediately offered an auto ride to our destination of choice with a small fee of a million dollars because we are rich Americans. We bartered with the guy and got him down to a somewhat reasonable price to take us to Lowry Adventist College where we rented a guest room. At Lowry, we crashed for a few hours and then got up to tackle our first day in this big city! 

Shekarato!

The first place we went was Mahatma Gandhi Road, a touristy area that has food, coffee shops, book stores, and all the shopping we could imagine. Our first stop for food was the Mateo Coffea shop which was like a dream come true! They had delicious pictures of coffees and desserts and scrumptious descriptions of pasta dishes and sandwiches lining the multi-paged menu… This place was just about like heaven. We treated ourselves to “Shekerato’s” (their version of a frappeccino) and espresso and enjoyed the nice atmosphere where everyone wasn’t stopping to get a good look at us. It was great!

Zach and Jeff Gilbert arrived soon after and we spent the rest of the day chatting and catching up with them. It was fun to share our stories that were similar in so many ways…ha! We ate at McDonalds and discovered that they have 12 rupee soft serve cones, which is only about 25 cents so we spoiled ourselves on these! Later that night we even went to Pizza Hut and ate some more American food… That day definitely ended with satisfied bellies.

Day two in Bangalore started with breakfast at the local Indian shop next to Lowry College. Here you can get three dosa (similar to crepes or pancakes), puri (I would call these an elephant ear without the sugar), or chappati for 20 rupees. Much cheaper than the American style food in the area! So with our bellies full, we set out for the Iskon Temple where we may have accidently become Hindu. We were ushered through the tourist section and given a card with lines to repeat outloud as we crossed over 108 stepping squares in our bare feet and up into the ‘worship area.’ The phrase consisted of four lines and went something like this, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare.” So after 108 repetitions of this, we made it into the temple and even sat down to try and sneak a photo of the golden statues and incense… They confiscated all cameras before we entered, but Zach luckily was able to sneak his in. He got a good picture of our clan (all in matching blue attire, accident ha!). The security seems very tight, but it really isn’t that thorough when it comes to searching… The rest of the temple was a maze of tourist attractions and shops selling coloring books of the gods and snacks. At the end we were given a free bowl of soupy rice that was really good!

After the Iskon, we piled all five of us into the small back seat of the only auto that would allow it to Mantri Square. The auto charges one rate, so the more people there is to split it between the better. We were surprised when most of the auto drivers wouldn’t allow us to put more than three people in because back in Vempalli, they pile six people inside, a few on the back, and some more on the roof! Mantri Square is a huge 5 story mall with a giant food court up top and a supermarket similar to Walmart downstairs. I’m pretty sure I may have experienced culture shock in that supermarket. Or maybe it was just because I was overwhelmed trying to look at every single item they had for sale to make sure it wasn’t something I needed to buy and take back to school with me. Ha! Probably the most exciting part of this mall was the fact that they had a Taco Bell (although I didn’t have any, the boys tell me the burritos didn’t quite measure up, but it was still a little taste of home!)

Sketchy photo of the Palace

From Mantri Square, we walked about 30 minutes up to the Bangalore Palace and tried to snag a few photos and avoid the guards with their whistles. Then we found an auto who would give us a free ride back to MG road if only he could take us to one shop for 5-10 minutes. This is the scam that many of the auto and taxi drivers try to trick tourists into. If they can get tourists to go to these several different shops with WAY over priced souvenirs, they get a 30% off gas card, or something like that. They are so desperate for these things that they will even drive you somewhere for free just so they can get it! So we got our free ride, all five in one auto once again, back to MG road and spent the rest of our night hanging out there at the shops.

We were pretty tired after that busy day, so Sunday we took it easy. We met a nice western guy at our favorite Mateo Coffea place who was from LA and had only been in India for three days. He is part of the Watson program where you are given a yearly salary and told to go travel anywhere in the world that you have never been and study some topic of your interest for a year. During this year you aren’t supposed to work or go to school, just simply learn! He had previously been in London for 3 months and now he would be spending 3 months in Bangalore, and his next stop was Australia. He was a real interesting guy! He had even heard of Walla Walla University. I love meeting new people that have something small in common with you in an unfamiliar place.

Cubbon Park

Zach and Jeff had to take off for their train back to Nuzvid around noon, so we went to Cubbon Park and relaxed there for a while and did some more exploring and walking around that area. It was nice to just take it easy. Our bus was leaving that night at 10:30 pm. Before we left, we treated ourselves to a great meal (unfortunately mine left me sick as a dog for the whole six hours of bumps back home) and made it to the bus station to experience something else completely new. The bus station was so packed with buses that all seemed to be itching to get out of there and were slowly creeping and honking at one other toward the main exit. There was no organization. There was a platform with a number, but this number really had nothing to do with where your bus was! It was completely random. In Sid’s words, “This must be what it is like to be on the Amazing Race.” Thankfully all the people who work there roam through the buses and each one stopped us to ask which bus we were looking for. After being led around by several different official looking people for 10-15 minutes, we were finally directed toward the correct bus and took off for our bouncy ride home!

Our trip to Bangalore was fun and refreshing! This modern city reminded us of the many things we have at home and it was fun to get out of the normal weekend routine and experience a different part of India. But when it all comes down to it, we were very relieved to be back in our home on Monday morning. Somehow the big, bustling city made the quiet farmlands of Andhra Pradesh seem more inviting, and it was a good feeling to be back!

Auto ride!

India#8 - Brooke Updates Us in Bangalore

Pizza, Pumpkins, and Poisonous Snakes

The end of October found us missing home as we thought of fall, pumpkins, and Halloween treats back in the US.  However, our last weekend in October was special in a way we didn’t expect.  On Saturday morning we went to church and were greeted by three Americans, Sue, Nancy, and Jack.  They sponsor children at the school and have been involved with it since the beginning so they visit every year.  These were the first white faces we had seen in a month.  The sponsors were pretty busy that day talking with their kids and catching up with people at the school but Sue invited us over the guesthouse that night to talk with them.  It was extremely interesting to hear about the history of the school and how much progress the kids really have made since first coming from their villages to the school.

The next day we had scheduled a shopping tip to Kadapa to stock up on groceries at the More store that we can’t get here in town.   We invited Sue to come along and since this was her seventh trip to India, she had no lack of wisdom, stories, and information to share with us on the car ride.  One such interesting bit of information was that one of the villages we drive through on our way to Kadapa recently was a terrorist town and home to a terrorist leader. The road had to be paved on either side of the town but not through because of the violence towards the construction crews.  The road is now finished but lets just say we won’t be stopping in that town for tea anytime soon.

The last time we had gone to the More store in Kadpa had been our second say in India so we didn’t really know what to buy.  This trip found us walking every aisle with a magnifying glass.  An hour later found the van loaded with cereal boxes, ramen like noodles, jelly, and ketchup.  The highlight of our trip was when Sue treated us to dinner at the Kadapa Café.  Although the food had a slight Indian twist, we enjoyed sandwiches, pizza, ice cream, and we even got some cakes to take home.  On our final stop in town, Sid and I each bought a lungie, which is one of the traditionally pieces of clothing men in this area wear.

Mom I know you’re not going to want to hear this but Sunday night was a bit exciting when the principle’s daughter found a cobra by her house and beat it to death with a stick.  We joined the circle of kids peering at the snake as it still twitched and of course took some pictures with the snake on the end of the stick.

After school on Monday Brooke and Sid went into Vempalli to hopefully find pumpkins for us to carve.  They came back with green pumpkins, or at least relatives to them and we spent the night sitting on our floor carving pumpkins.  The kids and teachers got quite the kick out of them when we lit them the next night.

We would like to thank Sue Smith for everything.  The love that Sue has for India and its people is so apparent and definitely inspiring to us.  She treated us like her own children for the weekend and even brought us some peanut m&ms on Halloween.  Her advice, wisdom, and support were all much needed and helped make the conclusion of our first full month in India a special one.

-T